Crowds assembled in Hong Kong on Monday in memory of the victims of China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown but young activists are increasingly questioning the annual vigil’s relevance. Organized by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, a group of veteran campaigners, the vigil has always had the democratization of China as its central message. As a result, student unions in Hong Kong have boycotted the Tiananmen vigil for the past three years. If (the democracy movements of China and Hong Kong) are interlinked, wouldn’t that in turn negate Hong Kong’s progress?” the president of the University of Hong Kong’s student union, Wong Ching-fung, told local media last week. A number of activists have been prosecuted on protest-related charges since the 2014 rallies as concerns grow that Hong Kong’s freedoms are under threat from Beijing.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer June 04, 2018 11:48 UTC